A recent feature in BBC Wildlife Magazine highlighted a discovery on jaguar behaviour in Brazil, reporting the first documented evidence of “meowing” vocalisations in wild individuals. Using camera traps in Iguaçu National Park, Salford’s Marina Duarte and colleagues’ researchers recorded females producing soft, meow-like calls directed at their cubs, which responded with similar sounds. This finding challenges the traditional view that large Panthera cats cannot meow and reveals a previously unrecognised level of complexity in maternal communication.
The findings also gained wider media attention, featuring on CBBC Newsround and across BBC social media platforms in 18 countries.